Eden Hazard will miss Chelsea’s Europa League opener against PAOK after reporting he is tired.

Chelsea are treating their star man carefully after he was in action until the final weekend of the World Cup with Belgium, who finished third in Russia.

Winger Hazard began Chelsea’s first two league games on the bench but has been handed a rest after starting their last three games.

Boss Maurizio Sarri said: “He told me that after the national team and after the match against Cardiff he was a little bit tired so I thought it was better to stay in Cobham, to have training and to rest.”

Eden Hazard has been left in London (Image: REUTERS)

David Luiz, Mateo Kovacic and Emerson Palmieri have also been left behind in England.

But, though the competition will give Sarri the chance to share the workload, he refused to offer England starlet Ruben Loftus-Cheek any guarantees that he will get some much-needed game-time against Greeks PAOK.

Sarri said: “Loftus-Cheek for me is a very good player but I don’t know if there is a spot for him tomorrow [but] of course there will be a spot for him in the future.”

Sarri labelled PAOK, Greek runners-up last season, a “very good team” but there also concerns off the pitch.

On the advice of Greek authorities the Blues are treating the game with unprecedented caution and described it as one that “will not be appropriate for all of our supporters to attend” in a message to supporters on their website.

To underline that they have also been told there will be no repercussions for fans in terms of their eligibility for future European trips if they missed this one.

Supporters have also been urged to only travel on designated coaches laid on by PAOK, with no other travel to the Toumba Stadium allowed, and “advised not to wear club colours at the airport, outside of the stadium or around the city of Thessaloniki.”